Truth Beneath the Rose
by disneyqueen
Summary: Exteremely A/U. What if the beast had not gone after Belle when she ran away. Can the spell be broken or will the beast be doomed to remain a beast as the enchantress foretold?


**Here is another one short from me. This story is extremely alternate universe and a kind of what if story. It was just an idea that came to me and thought it would be fun to write, even though it is really out there in terms of beauty and the beast. The characters belong to Disney, The title belongs to Within Temptation, who wrote the song, I do not own that. I do not own them at all.** **I have no BETAer so if there are any mistakes, I'm sorry. **

**Summerary. A/U What if the beast had not gone after Belle when she ran away. Could the spell be broken or would the beast be doomed to remain a beast as the enchantress foretold? **

**Onto the story. **

A cold blue fierce gaze swept over the wide landscape spread out before him. From atop the tower, the Beast saw the snow covered barren trees stretching out for miles in all directions with no sign of any other life. Even the moon seemed to have retreated behind the dark clouds. The normal cheery birds and other animals were silent in the cold winter night. The Beast felt his claws curl into fists as he cursed himself again for his own foolishly and stubbornness. Had it really only been a week since the woman had vanished out of his life? The only one who could have broken the curse upon him and his household staff had run from him without a single glance back. In a single moment of uncontrolled anger, he had ruined it all. A low growl rumbled in his throat as he turned and made his way back inside the bedchamber.

The stench of dead animal carcasses filled the room. He blinked and scanned the room for a moment. Despite the darkness, his animal sight saw all the broken furniture and torn fabric littering the cold wooden floor beneath the thin cloth which covered it. He sighed in frustration, all of it marking the creature's hold on him growing stronger. For the millionth time, he wondered about his damnable choices in his life. All of them had led to disaster and now he was in danger of losing himself completely when the last rose petal finally fell. His eyes shifted over and rested upon the glass globe and the fragile flower beneath.

The words of the enchantress echoed in his mind as he stared at the wilting rose. He silently cursed the flower and shook his head as though he could change something. Yet, the faint hue of pink continued to bounce off of the glass, mocking him. A constant reminder of how much time was left without any chance of changing it. He almost laughed at the irony. The rose was his part of his curse, a hideous reminder of the past and the old hag. And yet he protected and defended it from the foolish woman, ruining his one chance.

"She would have destroyed it," he muttered to himself. Again, he saw the woman lifting the glass and reaching out to touch the flower. _His_ flower. He shook the memory away and moved over to the small table.

Grabbing the enchanted mirror, he asked, "Where is the girl?"

The mirror's clear surface glowed green and faded to a show the woman, Belle, sitting beside the fire with the old man, reading aloud to him. She was content and had most likely forgotten her misadventures with him. Tearing his eyes away, he growled and mumbled something under his breath. He had been fooling himself the whole time, even if she had stayed, she had only traded places to save the old man's life. Why had he even considered the slim chance? Again, his gaze settled back onto the rose.

"If only you were a living person." The Beast inwardly chucked dryly at the very thought. Was he now going mad too? Yet, as he gazed upon the flower, the more he thought of the idea. Through the years, he had become withdrawn even from the staff, confined to his chamber, unable to cope with the stares of hidden anger and almost disappointment from the servants. He rarely ventured out or called the servants to him anymore, his companion was his rose.

For the fifth time, he shook his head and moved over to his large canopy bed. After the curse, sleep had become almost irrelevant, but now his eyes were growing heavy with sleep and frustration. He lay down and stared up at the ceiling through the torn canopy, contemplating his fate. Closing his eyes, an image of the rose crept into his mind and silently he recited the special words to the empty chamber, knowing they would never come true.

**XxX**

The sound of a crash woke him as he bolted upright in bed. He blinked a few times, confusion clouding his mind. He was surrounded by darkness, unable to make out any objects in the chamber. Shaking his head, he turned to the source of the crash. He swung his legs over the bed and peered in the darkness. "Who's there?"

Silence was his only answer. He growled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The servants knew not to disturb him. Again, he surveyed the chamber; the cold evening breeze blew through the torn curtain and filled the room. He felt his begin teeth chatter while strange bumps ran up and down his arms. What was going on? Another crash interrupted his thoughts and he pushed himself off of his bed, glaring around the room. _How dare someone intrude on me? _

Again, he yelled out into the darkness. "Who's there? Show yourself, I demand you!"

Slowly, something moved in the darkness toward him, gentle footsteps moving across the crowded floor. He blinked and squinted through the shadows as the silhouette of a person came into view. Anger and confusion pulsed through his veins as he stared at the human figure.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" He raised his hand to strike, his fierce temper overriding his confusion.

"You save him only to attack me now." The gentle female voice asked from within the darkness.

He stumbled back and shook his head. "No…not you again. Am…I dreaming?"

"No, my Lord you are not."

He chuckled darkly. "My Lord? That is hardly a name I would use." He took a step forward. "Now, who are you?"

"I was…" Through dimness, she gestured to the near empty balcony and the small table.

His eyes grew wide, forgetting the strange woman; he ran over, the icy wind blew against his face, causing him to shiver. Despite the cold, he could only stay at the table, but the ball jar had disappeared. Behind him, he heard the strange woman approach. He spun around and glared at the woman, his voice low. "What…have you done?"

"Nothing…it's what you've done."

He blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"For stealing a rose, you must live as one until you can look beyond the surface to true beauty before the last petal falls," the woman whispered, her calm blue gaze staring back at him.

He paused; the words were so close to his own curse. Through the moonlight, he stared at her and took her in. She seemed young. Deep golden brown hair framed her face while her eyes remained fixed on him, showing no signs of fear, though she seemed so fragile. Like the rose. No, it could not be true. He shook his head and turned away from her and looked down at the table again and picked up the mirror. The enchanted mirror felt lifeless and cold in his hand as he turned it around, examining it.

After a moment, he looked up at the woman again. "But…how is this possible?"

"I…don't know, but…thank you."

"For what?"

"You broke our curse."

Again, he found himself unable to answer her. It was true, he had seen past the rose's ugliness of reminding him of his curse to see her innocent beauty; both connected in a strange way through the enchantress. The rose…the woman had seen him through his strongest and weakest moments throughout the years and had not judged him for it…had seen through his own ugliness. She sat patiently and listened to him like none of the other servants had done. When the petals had fallen, it had seemed as if she was crying for his pain. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and turned the mirror around and looked into its reflective surface. Large blue eyes stared back at him, but no fur covered his now clean shaven face. Gingerly, he rested his fingers against his face and felt skin touch skin.

The prince looked up at the woman. "Is…is this real?"

The woman nodded, a small smile spreading across her face. "Yes, it is, Adam."

He paused, the name almost unfamiliar to his ears. Yet, from her lips it felt right. He set the mirror down and looked at her. "And…what is your name?"

She opened her mouth, but another voice cut her off. "Master…Master?"

The pair turned and saw Lumiere standing in the doorway dressed in his formal, human attire.

"Look what has happened…it is a miracle, Master. What has happened? I…" his voice trailed off as he spotted the woman. "Oh…who is this, Master?"

The prince hid a smile, but gave a small nod to Lumiere. "I'll explain anything later, Lumiere. Tell everyone to meet in the ballroom."

Lumiere nodded and left without a word.

Turning back to the woman, Adam said, "Is this just a dream?"

The woman shook his head, reached up and caressed his cheek. "No, my beast, it isn't."

Adam began to run his fingers through her hair, and smiled. "Thank you, my beautiful rose."

**Well, there it is. I know it is a crazy idea, but as I said it just came to me. Cuase the rose weather it be real or not, would have seen the beast at the worst and weakest times of his life more so than the other servants I feel. And also I hope I made it clear about the how the "love" thing orked. Because while a rose is beautful, it was ugly for the beast because it reminded him of his curse so he had to look beyound that. And the rose (woman) stealing the flower was vain (like the prince) and had to look beyounf the beast's looks to see his inner beauty. **

**Anyway, please review and tell me your thoughts. Good, bad, to crazy to have been thought of. Please let me know and my other story, Wilting Roses will be updated hopefully soon.**


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